Gear junkie or less is more?

I find it extremely hard not to be persuaded to buy every shiny new piece of equipment that I come across on the net so lately have been trying to remind myself that often "less is more" as Gabriel Branby, the CEO of Gransfors Bruks eloquently explains in this video.

Having said that, I do feel that, although my cheap mora knife has served me extremely well over this last while, I can maybe justify an upgrade....! Suggestions welcome :-)

A birch bowl

Found a nice piece of birch in a local wood last week whilst out with the bushcraft guys so decided to carve it into a bowl. Carving is nearly all done now, so might make a good Xmas present for someone. Just need to wait for it to dry (slowly in a bag so it doesn't dry too quickly and crack) then sand and seal the wood with oil.

Making a start out in the woods

Getting there!

The daily commute: Why do smart people do crazy things?

This morning's commute

I’m not talking about cycling to work when you can very easily take the car, but rather why on earth would someone commute in the car if they live within cycling distance of the workplace!?  These were the thoughts going through my head this morning as I whizzed through the queues of traffic on my way in to work. Okay so the cold and wet (and snow!)can be a little uncomfortable, but with proper gear this can be minimised and when I think of the advantages of a cycle commute I would hate to have to ever go back to the bumper to bumper car journey or even worse the sweaty tube journey some people have to endure being crushed together in a metal carriage 20 metres underground!

Barring a puncture, that can be fixed in 10 mins if need be, I know I will be showered and in the office exactly 1 hour after setting foot for the 9 mile journey from my front door, I don’t need to worry about finding or paying for a parking space, no petrol costs, my daily aerobic fitness training is taken care of, the environment is cleaner as a result.. . Need I go on?

Okay I don’t really think its crazy to choose the car commute, but I do think if more people weighed up the benefits and gave the cycle commute a go there would be many more cyclists on the road.

Leaving the office